The Rangers saw their eight-game win streak go by the wayside in a 3-2 loss to Dallas. New York did not play particularly well, but part of that was due to the effort of the Stars', who did a great limiting what the Rangers do well, especially when they got a 3-2 lead. New York was able to overcome mistakes and miscues during the eight-game win streak but were unable to overcome similar Monday.
I will keep the blog relatively brief, as the comments covered a large portion of what I would write plus much of it has already been covered in the media. That said, I will go through a few things. In addition, despite the loss, there were a few positives.
Of course, I have to start with Tanner Glass. There is no question he didn't have a strong game. His tripping penalty led to the Stars' first goal. Later in the game, he took another silly penalty. Even when on the PK, as pointed out on twitter yesterday, he tends to drift too far towards the boards and down in the box, leaving the point way too open, resulting in a shot on goal nearly every time. You can say he brings grit to the lineup and he did step in a few times in what was a chippy game yesterday, but unsure he warrants being in the lineup night in and night out. Unfortunately, Glass' status has become the cause celebrate' for all Rangers fans and bloggers and is likely to continue for the near future (and maybe two-plus more years).
Ryan McDonagh didn't have a great game. In fact, on the third goal, he lost contact with Antoine Roussel down low, allowing the tap-in for what proved to be the game-winner. While that was damaging, he had what looked to be an even more damaging play in the first, thought as of now, it looks like he dodged a major bullet. McDonagh had an awkward collision with Cody Eakin in the first period, in which he got his left arm caught up high, and his previously injured shoulder was vulnerable stretched out in front of him. McDonagh showed a good burst up the ice the remainder of the game, displaying no ill effects, and after the game said he was fine, but given the injury history, it was a scary moment to watch.
I read some comments taking Henrik Lundqvist to task for the loss. Are you kidding? The first goal came after Dominic Moore blocked the first shot, breaking his stick. It went back to John Klingberg and Lundqvist never saw the puck after getting screened by Marc Staal. On the second, maybe he left the post a tad early, but if he doesn't push off and get set, if/when the puck went to the crease, he would have had no shot. Instead, it deflected off Staal's stick and by him. Last, he made the first save and McDonagh plus the forwards failed to cover the front of the net and he had no shot. Lundqvist was spectacular the last 39 minutes and kept the team in the game.
Chris Kreider had one of of his better games in a while. He was strong on the puck, creating space with his size and speed. Kreider showed great patience on the play he just missed scoring, holding the puck and creating a wide-open net but was unlucky as Jyrki Jokipakka, in the crease, played goalie well enough to prevent a goal.
In fact, it was a night of near misses. Kevin Klein hit the post in the second. Rick Nash just missed on a short-handed breakaway, losing control of the puck. Dan Boyle, who I thought was the Rangers best d-man, was not able to lift the puck at the post and Kari Lehtonen was able to make the save, robbing him of a goal in the third.
Other positives were Mats Zuccarello, who set up J.T. Miller’s power-play goal in the first period, notched his 112th career point on the play, making him the leading, Norwegian-born point getter in NHL history, passing Espen (Shampoo) Knudsen. i thought John Moore was very active especially offensively. He struggled a bit on D, but his willingness to and ability in jumping up in the play was very evident. Miller, beyond the goal, was good enough to deserve another chance, especially as he was moved upon to the third line.
The negatives were several. When the winning streak started, the Rangers played a Calgary team that mixed a very good blue line in Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie and Dennis Wideman with good forward. In that contest, AV did not feel the need to set his lineup to match that, yet, Monday, he sat Jesper Fast, seemingly for the need for more offense, resulting in Lee Stempniak starting on the third and Miller on the fourth. Later, he moved Miller up and Hagelin down a line, creating more mismatches in the combinations. Fast is better suited for the fourth line and if you aren't going to play Stempniak there, then you have created more issues than needed.
The Stars' fourth line along with Klingberg and Alex Goligoski did a great job of bottling up the Nash line. This is where the second line had to step up. Kreider did his part but MSL has to be more visible, and that seems to have been true a lot more lately than expected. When Dallas used their speed to chip and chase and then clogged the neutral zone, the Rangers didn't do a great job of adjusting to it. They should been able to counter-attack, but save for a few instances, failed to do so.
It's one game, so not time to panic. But as Carp pointed out, the upcoming schedule is tough and will give us a better sense as to where this team stands. "Last night began a stretch in which the Rangers will play eight of 10 on the road. That includes three in four nights in California, then another three in four in the East (Boston, Columbus, Pittsburgh), with a home game against the November Cup Champions in between." That means while Wednesday's game is not a must win, you don't want to end 2014 on a two-game skid then head out to California for the three games.
Sorry for the delay, was trying to catch up on work and still not great but better than Monday.